


First Meetings

by sassysarcasticlove



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Minor tag to 1x09, Pre-Canon, Spoilers for 1x09
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 11:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14851509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassysarcasticlove/pseuds/sassysarcasticlove
Summary: The story of how Mac and Bozer first met, because their canon first meeting was too good not to add on to.  And a short tag to 1x09 where Bozer is still processing everything.





	First Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> In this story, Bozer is 10 and Mac is 8. Mac skipped two grades, so they're both in fifth grade as in canon.

Ten-year old Wilt Bozer was not having a good day. First, he’d overslept, forcing him to eat breakfast on the bus. Then his English teacher had assigned an essay. _Then_ Mr. Willis had made today rope climbing day. All this before lunch. It was definitely not shaping up to be the kind of day one fondly reminisced on decades later.

He was walking down the hall towards the cafeteria, grumpily wondering what he’d done to deserve all this, when he saw Donnie Sandoz shoving some blond kid against a locker.

Bozer hated bullies on a good day and tried to always intervene. He was the class clown; everybody loved him, and he could almost always defuse the situation. Now, however, he didn’t really feel up to his usual routine of distracting the bully. Plus, Donnie Sandoz was the biggest brute in school.

Bozer’s eyes narrowed as he walked toward the scene. Donnie was twisting the kid’s arm behind his back in a way that must have been painful. He whispered something in his victim’s ear, applying pressure and eliciting a whimper. Bozer sped up. Sandoz laughed cruelly and threw the blond to the floor.

“Hey, Jerk!” Donnie turned, and Bozer let loose with his right hook, knocking Sandoz to the floor and causing blood to flow freely from his nose. Donnie ran off in the direction of the nurse’s office, and Bozer turned to the kid, who was still on the floor. He was met with the bluest eyes he’d ever seen blown wide with astonishment and fear. Bozer held out a hand.

“Hi. I’m Wilt Bozer, but you can call me Bozer.” The other boy took his hand and stood up, still looking like a deer in the headlights.

“You go by your last name?”

“Yup!” Leaning forward, he added in a conspiratorial whisper. “I’m not a huge fan of Wilt.”

“Oh.” One corner of the kid’s mouth quirked up and some of the fear started to leave his eyes. “I’m Angus Macgyver, but, um, you can call me Macgyver.”

“Macgyver, huh? Okay if I call you Mac?” Macgyver nodded eagerly, a real smile breaking out on his face.

The next afternoon, Bozer was sitting idly on the park swings, scuffing his feet slightly against the ground. He’d gotten two weeks of suspension for breaking Donnie Sandoz’s nose. Totally worth it. At the sound of approaching footsteps, he looked up and was surprised to see the kid he’d rescued, Mac he remembered, standing there, nervously shifting his feet and looking at the ground.

“Hi. Mr Erickson told me I might find you here. I, um, I brought your homework; we’re in the same classes. I figured you kind of got suspended because of me, so…” Bozer grinned.

“Thanks, Mac! Hey, you wanna come over and hang out with me while I do it? Mama’s usually got a snack ready about this time.” Mac looked genuinely surprised by the offer, but he nodded.  
“I’d- I’d like that.”

“Great. Come on!” Bozer hopped off the swing and pulled his new friend excitedly after him. He never looked back.

\- Present Day -

It had been two days since Bozer accepted a job at the Phoenix foundation. Two days, and he still had no idea what to do with the knowledge that his best friend was a spy.

“You know, Mac,” Bozer began thoughtfully, causing Mac to look up from his bike. “It’s been sixteen years to the day since I took a bad day out on Donnie Sandoz’s nose.” Mac laughed, tossing down his wrench and inspecting his work.

“And here I’ve been thinking all these years it was your sense of justice and heroism,” he teased. When Bozer didn’t respond, Mac looked up, taking in the look on his best friend’s face.

“So what’s eating you tonight? Don’t tell me it’s nothing; I’ve known you since you were ten.”

“It’s just that all this time, I’ve been thinking I was the older brother, that I could still protect you, but all this time you’ve been the one protecting me. I guess you never really needed me, did you?” At that, Mac moved to sit next to Bozer on the couch, wiping his hands on a rag as he did so.

“Boze, when you met me I was a scared, lonely kid who cowered before an eleven year old with anger management issues. No one had ever shown me how to stand up to a school bully. Or a terrorist. I’m not that same kid anymore, and that’s partly thanks to you. You’re not gonna be able to protect me from every bad guy that tries to use me as a punching bag. But you’ve always given me somewhere to come home too. You help keep me grounded, keep me sane. In some ways, I need that even more.” With his eyes so wide and earnest, Bozer’s roommate really did resemble a puppy.

“And you’re not just saying all this to make me feel better?” Mac quirked an eyebrow.

“Would I do such a thing? And as for who’s the older brother, there’s technically nothing I can do about that.” Bozer smirked and hopped off the couch.

“Well, if I’m the older brother, it’s after midnight and you’re getting your ass in bed.” Mac rolled his eyes, but allowed Bozer to pull him up and push him towards his room. There had been so much out of Bozer’s control lately; Mac could at least let him have this. At the door to his room, Mac stopped and turned.

“And Bozer? Thanks.” For punching Donnie. For always being there for me. For forgiving me.

“You’re welcome, Mac.” Bozer’s smile told Mac he got the message, loud and clear. Clearing his throat sternly, Bozer affected his best interpretation of his old man. “Alright, go to bed. Now.” Mac laughed.

“And if you can’t sleep, pretend to,” they finished together.

“Goodnight, Bozer.”

“Goodnight, Mac.” As Bozer closed the door to his own room, he smiled to himself, satisfied that, government agent or not, Mac would always be Bozer’s little brother who made lightning in the gym.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this got really sappy at the end, but (by my math at least) Bozer would be at least a year older than Mac, and I really love the idea of Bozer acting like Mac's big brother. Sorry if they were way ooc; it's my first fanfiction, so I kinda just suck in general.


End file.
